What's N3 and does it affect me? by Oleg Ph.D. -- Staff Writer for Dish/NET
Various satellite signal providers choose to add a level of encoding on the video making it more difficult for FTA receivers to display. Currently providers in the United States use something called "Nagra 2". Five years ago the "Nagra 1" codes where used and now certain providers are moving to "Nagra 3". Even very experienced FTA users are confused by the transition so here is some information from KGB that may answer your questions.
It is not unreasonable that a satellite company or Free-To-Air station wants to provide viewers with more options. To make that happen they use a special type of card that looks like a credit card but contains a microchip running software. These cards are called "ROMS" and fit into non FTA receivers. When a satellite company wants to offer new features, such as new methods of interaction or a new signal decoder, they must SWAP all of the cards that all of their millions of customers have with new cards. Over a period of time new rom cards will be shipped to existing customers and old cards will no longer work. This is called a Card Swap and has recently been started by at least one of the major providers and will start soon with others.
Here are some common questions and answers.
Q: Will my existing receiver be able to handle N3?
A: Little is known in the public about N3 at this time but most people believe that manufacturers and coding teams will find a way to support N3 on all popular receivers that are currently in the marketplace. Some receivers with less processing power, memory or other resources may not be able to handle this "Next Generation" of decoding.
Q: If I am not sure that a receiver will handle N3, should I spent my money on a new receiver or just wait?
A: This is a good question and there are two ways that experts are advising. Some experts are just not sure and they recommend buying a low end receiver for now and waiting and then switch to the best receivers as they prove support for N3. Others, including KGB, think that more powerful FTA receivers will be the first to support N3 and having one now is a good investment and will likely prove to have less downtime. KGB loves the way his HD receiver can record prime time shows in HD format free over air from my local network stations and this is worth the investment.
Q: Will I loose my FTA channels?
A: FTA receivers have many purposes. If you are using your receiver for OTA ATSC (Over the air signals sent by your local networks in digital and often HD format) then you will not have any problem and the N3 card swap will have no impact on you. The FTA hobby is perfect for watching international stations available on many different satellites that will not be impacted in any way by N3.
Q: Is one brand likely to come out with support faster?
A: Some people think that it will be a great sales advantage for the manufactures to support N3 before anyone else and in some cases this will happen. Generally speaking, the FTA community is just that, a community of hard working coders. Some hardware companies even use the same coders and coding teams. As information becomes available, these teams will likely share with each other so that everyone can learn and the hobby can move forward. Some receivers will have less downtime than others. Thanks Oleg Ph.D (good luck!!!!)
jjgee, talking about FTA receivers. "What people use them for here, they will be useless, unless you have a boat. They will make a good boat anchor."
I would advise people NOT to use the FTA receivers as Boat anchors. They are never made waterproof, and the electronics will get ruined. Some of them are made strong enough, such that the they are shock proof, and can be used to hit scaremonger Dish Moles like jjgee and you can even throw them to hit jjgee on the head and yet they will remain properly functional.
Nalin don't call me a mole, I am out front with my name. Why don't you be honest with people here and tell them how you work for me as a mole. Did you know plymouth is one too?
